TIME was, I sat upon a lofty stool, At lofty desk, and with a clerkly pen Began each morning, at the stroke of ten, To write in Bell and Co's commercial school; In Warnford Court, a shady nook and cool, The favourite retreat of merchant men; Yet would my quill turn vagrant even then, And take stray dips in the Castalian pool. Now double entry -- now a flowery trope -- Mingling poetic honey with trade wax -- Blogg, Brothers -- Milton -- Grote and Prescott -- Pope -- Bristles -- and Hogg -- Glyn Mills and Halifax -- Rogers -- and Towgood -- Hemp -- the Bard of Hope -- Barilla -- Byron -- Tallow -- Burns -- and Flax! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HARRISON STREET COURT by CARL SANDBURG OUR COUNTRY'S CALL by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT AN EPITAPH UPON HUSBAND AND WIFE WHO DIED AND WERE BURIED by RICHARD CRASHAW SONNET: 14. ON THE RELIGIOUS MEMORY OF CATHERINE THOMASON by JOHN MILTON THE WORLD'S TRIUMPHS by MATTHEW ARNOLD |